Black Ops 4 PREVIEW: This could be THE BEST Call of Duty multiplayer yet

Black Ops 4 PREVIEW: This could be THE BEST Call of Duty multiplayer yet

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was revealed properly today.

At a special Community Event in LA, Activision and developer Treyarch announced more about the game that was revealed earlier this year.

The reveal confirmed a series of leaks that had suggested the game would have a Battle Royale mode, and that it would ditch single player.

The event also had a multiplayer build of the game available to influencers and members of the media - and we were fortunate enough to be able to play a few games of multiplayer whilst we were there.

You can read our full impressions below - as well as everything else we know about the game.

Call of Duty Black Ops 4 - Trailer Screenshots

Here's your first look at the new Call of Duty Black Ops 4 game.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Hands-on Preview / Impressions

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is making some pretty big changes to multiplayer.

In developer Treyarch’s own words, this version of Black Ops’ PvP is the most ambitious multiplayer to date - and we concur. Black Ops 4’s multiplayer offering is a more refined tactical team experience that - at first glance - is a richer experience than previous CoD efforts.

We played the game for an hour, and in that time, the main thing we noticed was how dynamic the rhythm and flow of the game has become thanks to the dedicated button you have with which to heal yourself.

This alters the fundamental mentality of a CoD firefight: instead of a straight-up battle with one player winning and one dying, this allows you to think more tactically.

If you get dropped on, you’ll still die, but if you enter a one-on-one with another player, you can get out of the action and heal up.

Time to kill is a little longer in this game compared to WWII, and that helps this dynamic, too. Add in the improved gun animations that telegraph more about what your opponent is doing, the muzzle flashes that show you where bullets are coming from more clearly, and the easier-to-identify bullet impacts and you have a CoD game that gives you more on-screen information than any other CoD game out there.

The ‘boots on the ground’ focus from the previous title is still here - there is no wall running, no thrust jumping. This keeps the action streamlined, keeps to focus on player to player gunplay, rather than evasion. This is good - especially paired with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s other big innovation: your gun is up at all times.

This is, at first, an odd thing to get your head around. But when you cook and throw grenades, when you operate equipment, when you sprint or mantle your gun is always up. Granted you take an accuracy penalty when you multitask, but this really helps keep you focused and always draws your eyes into the battle, keeps you checking all this information Treyarch is giving you about player location, threat levels and your own status.

These differences are the shot in the arm Call of Duty needs - it’s very different, it’s very involved, and it’s very good. This has every chance of being the best CoD to date.

We’ll have more comprehensive impressions this Sunday.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Everything you need to know about Zombies

From what we’ve seen of the Zombies mode so far, it’s clear that Activision and Treyarch are taking the mode seriously.

The game will ship with three Zombies modes at launch, with the promise of more to come later.

Taking its cues from the likes of Destiny and broader Activision multiplayer titles, Zombies will also feature seasonal events called Callings and will introduce daily, monthly, and yearly events to the title to keep things mixed up - keep you coming back for more.

Difficulty levels return to the mode, too - something that we think is going to help entice lapsed players back to the mode. In previous games, Zombies became convoluted, with so many layers of mechanics, easter eggs and actions to perform that the pure thrill of simply surviving and killing was cast aside.

By giving us three experiences at launch (The Nine, Voyage of Despair, and the throwback Blood of the Dead), Treyarch is keeping it mixed up, offering three avenues for players to enjoy.

Also, by adding in Mutations to the game and giving players the option to experiment with their own setups, this mode gets a lot more depth, and becomes a much larger social platform.

We’re keen to see how Activision and Treyarch keep this mode alive and support the various campaigns on offer - they’ve created a massive beast, and we’re hoping they’ll be able to keep alive and in control for months after the release window.

Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Zombies FIRST LOOK

The new Blackout mode is perhaps the biggest change to Call of Duty this year. The mode is heavily inspired by the successes of Fortnite and PUBG (the biggest successes in the Battle Royale genre right now), but developer Treyarch is keen to assure players that the mode will have its own flavour versus its competitors - that it’ll retain that trademark Black Ops feeling.

The Battle Royale mode is sort-of a love letter to Black Ops games past: the map (which will be 1500 times the size of Nuketown, by the way) will be filled with elements from previous Black Ops maps.

So for Call of Duty aficionados, there will be a lot for you to pick through and discover as you play - that’s pretty cool.

Also, the development team is keen to reinforce the idea that this will be a Battle Royale with all the hallmarks of a CoD game: high fidelity, stable framerate, a massive pool of weapons, incredible production values.

We’re seeing Activision enter the currently quite small pool of Battle Royale games as a bonafide triple-A publisher with a lot of clout behind it - this could really shake up the scene that Fortnite and PUBG has been instrumental in creating.

We’re eager to see if the old giants can topple these new young upstarts.